China has become Africa's leading trading partner, with the trade exceeding US$210 billion for 2013, and projected to reach US$400 billion by 2020. China's increased economic presence in and importance to Africa has understandably attracted global attention by scholars, business people, pundits, politicians, and journalists. Unfortunately, much of the discussion concerning the Sino-African relationship takes the form of a debate as to what extent is China a neocolonial power in Africa. We argue

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... that neither the economic data nor the facts on the ground support this line of inquiry; that China and Africa are clearly in a postcolonial relationship of mutual interdependency; and that the neocolonial debate obscures vital issues of global importance concerning developmental economics and the alleviation of poverty, sustainable development and protecting the environment, and sovereignty and social development in a multipolar world. By putting the neocolonial debate to rest and asking better questions, policy-makers, business people, academics, and activists can have both an improved understanding of and more full participation in the Sino-African relationship.